RTÉ Archiv | Gay Byrne

Contents:

• GAY BYRNE
• GAY BYRNE OBUARY: THE MATRO OF IRISH BROADSTG
• GAY BYRNE ON THE RAD WAS SENTIAL LISTENG
• GAY BYRNE OBUARY
• ON THIS DAY: IRISH TV AND RAD PRENTER GAY BYRNE BORN DUBL
• GAY BYRNE: HIS TOP 10 MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS ON AIR
• GAY BYRNE: ‘I AM NO DIFFERENT TO HUNDREDS OF THOANDS OF PEOPLE WHO LOST MONEY’
• GAY BYRNE: THE GREATT SHOWMAN

GAY BYRNE

Gay Byrne (1934-2019) a rad and televisn broadster was born Dubl and he joed Rad Éireann 1958. From 1973 to 1998, he prented 'The Gay Byrne Hour' on Rad 1.

Patrick Freyne looks back at the reer of the multi award-wng broadster Gay Byrne. Stills: The Irish Tim/ As creded Gay Byrne Born: Augt 5th, 1934 Died: November 4th, 2019Gay Byrne, who has died at the age of 85, was the undisputed leadg figure the history of Irish broadstg, and played a hugely fluential role the transformatn of attus the latter part of the 20th a reer that spanned six s, he was father figure, nfsor, quisor and entertaer, all rolled to one. Both parents were om Co Wicklow, his father om Kildry (where Gay Byrne’s grandfather was achman to the Earl of Meath) and his mother om Bray.

It was partly for this reason that the young Gay Byrne never got close to him. She was termed that her children would better themselv and sent Gay to sendary regular e om Guns’s ma the fay more fortunate than many others. Mr Moynihan was so pleased wh young Gay Byrne’s performance that he gave him a threepenny those the stud thought of the boy who, the future, would revolutnise Irish broadstg, remas unknown.

GAY BYRNE OBUARY: THE MATRO OF IRISH BROADSTG

She had promised to go to Mass and Communn every day if her hband me back safely om the first World War – they had married Belfast 1917 – which he daily Mass-gog eventually chafed wh the young Gay Byrne and at the age of 14 or 15 he had a ser row wh his mother durg which he said some extremely solent thgs to her.

By the time the uple fally married Saggart Parish Church 1964, their weddg was a celebry event, wh a crowd of more than a thoand gatherg the Dubl village to tch a glimpse of the newlyweds, who need a Garda rt to get to their a broadster, Gay Byrne, or Gaybo, as he me to be known, saw his populary as fickle and as somethg that uld disappear at the whim of the dience. The girls who flocked to the ballrooms uld, if they beme pregnant, fd themselv shut to a mother and baby home for up to two years, spendg their time scbbg floors and workg the kchens, their nam changed, their right to munite wh the outsi world cut off, their babi taken om them to be sent to Ameri on a few hours’ Gay Byrne – who was very well aware of the existence of that other Ireland – chipped away and away at , lethally on The Late Late Show, brgg on, for stance, guts who champned the right of unmarried mothers and their babi to be treated cently by the the old Ireland stepped – and had plenty of reprentativ RTÉ, polics and the civil service – to sist that The Late Late Show stick to “safe” entertament, the story of Gay Byrne would probably be of ltle tert to today. Neverthels, his survival was a remarkable achievement for the boy who got a ser beatg over givg cheek to his mother bee he didn’t want to go to great ntradictn of Gay Byrne, of urse, was that so many of his views he was nservative, though he did so much to unrme the very nservative approach which had characterised Irish life well to the 1960sHe did make one apology which he regretted was the Bishop and the Nightie affair, when he asked a woman the dience what she had worn on her weddg night.

Gay Byrne brought to an end wh what he later scribed as a “half” apology.

GAY BYRNE ON THE RAD WAS SENTIAL LISTENG

But he didn’t feel good about and he cid he would never aga apologise when he had done nothg enough, he was probably the only one who remembered years later that he had apologised: all the public remembered was that a bishop had ma a fool of himself over a harmls joke by a woman about her weddg Gay Byrne Show, the rad programme which brought him to the natn’s kchens every weekday morng, started 1972 and ran until 1998. They ntaed the prevly untold, heartrendg experienc of many women Ireland at the great ntradictn of Gay Byrne, of urse, was that so many of his views he was nservative, though he did so much to unrme the very nservative approach which had characterised Irish life well to the took the view, for stance, that the untry was gog to the dogs enomilly and that State spendg was too high. ”This renred the loss of his money the Rsell Murphy affair all the more shockg – when emerged after Murphy’s ath 1984 that the acuntant had taken all the money which he had managed on Gay Byrne’s behalf and had left him bt.

Worse, Murphy had been a close iend and Gay Byrne had seen him almost as a father blow was a grievo one to a man who nfsed to havg a sense of secury about his e, spe his great succs. He ntued to appear on televisn, prentg the Irish versn of Who Wants to Be a Millnaire?, along wh seri such as The Gay Byrne Mic Show and Make ’Em Lgh (about edy Ireland), Gaybo’s Gmpy Men and Class beme a tirels and forceful advote for savg liv, appearg equently on rad and televisn, durg a perd which saw a dramatic fall road traffic fataliHis long-nng terview seri The Meang of Life clud a number of remarkable moments, cludg actor Gabriel Byrne’s admissn that he had been abed as a child and Stephen Fry’s nunciatn of God. “I am not gog to say, bee would promise me terms of the show if people knew I had a posn, ” he 2006, he also prented Sunday afternoon shows on Lyric FM, where he displayed his encyclopaedic knowledge and ep love of classic jazz while lightg his substantial dience wh curmudgeonly asis about the state of 2014, he prented a documentary, Gay Byrne: My Father’s War about his father Edward’s service the 19th Royal Hsars durg the first World War, and his return to Ireland afterwards.

GAY BYRNE OBUARY

Photograph: David Sleator Gay Byrne was diagnosed wh prostate ncer 2016 and he wrote and spoke publicly about the gellg nature of the chemotherapy treatment regime he was recently due to receive the Ireland-US Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award om Print Michael D Higgs, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to a broken wrist and cht fectn. Print Higgs paid tribute to him at the event, sayg: “Controversial, outspoken, and unaaid to break new ground, has been said that, throughout his many s on televisn and rad, Gay Byrne’s role the shapg and craftg of morn-day Ireland has been profound. ”Gay Byrne is survived by his wife, Kathleen Watks, and their two dghters, Crona and Suzy.

The master's voice - Gay 1973.

ON THIS DAY: IRISH TV AND RAD PRENTER GAY BYRNE BORN DUBL

The Gay Byrne Show began 1973 as The Gay Byrne Hour and om the start, the only way was up for the programme, which ran for 25 years until s fal live edn on Christmas Eve, 1998.

GAY BYRNE: HIS TOP 10 MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS ON AIR

Gay was subsequently 'arrted' by Gardaí Pat Shortt and Jon Kenny, known llectively as D'Unbelievabl, for g a traffic obstctn. The prenter on his last edn of The Gay Byrne Show 1998.

There had been notable mpaigns relatg to civil rights the 1970s, but a certa steady-as-she-go attu prevailed until Gay's programme m on air.

GAY BYRNE: ‘I AM NO DIFFERENT TO HUNDREDS OF THOANDS OF PEOPLE WHO LOST MONEY’

Fortuoly enough, The Gay Byrne Show seemed to ci wh new patterns of thkg and s daily prence opened up space for new bat, based on the personal stori aired. The fal Gay Byrne Show, live om St Stephen's Green, Christmas Eve, 1998.

Gay always claimed that chang attus had ls to do wh him and more to do wh what journalists said about his work as a broadster. Whatever about that, there was an untrammelled air to Gay on the rad, a sense that you uld tune some morngs and be surprised or shocked by what you you heard.

GAY BYRNE: THE GREATT SHOWMAN

Gay - arrted by D'Unbelievabl. Some standout moments clud Tie Herrema, the Dutch bsman, who had been kidnapped by the IRA 1975, speakg to Gay at length about his oral a later.

They need to raise £50, 000 for the procre, and after their rad terview wh Gay and a subsequent appearance on The Late Late Show, £1m was raised. News of her ath opened the floodgat, and Gay received "too many letters, they uldn't be ignored. "Time and aga they make the pot that beg able to wre all down is a relief, " said Gay about those stori.

Gay spoke about that perd his broadstg life durg the RTÉ TV documentary, Last Orrs, which aired 2016.